Faroe Islands vs Northern Ireland Euro 2016 Qualifier Betting Preview

Northern Ireland have a glorious chance to vault themselves into first place in Group F this Friday, September 4 when they play a road game in the Faroe Islands in a Euro 2016 qualifier. The Irish squad currently sits in second place with 13 points from four wins, a draw and a loss. They’ve scored eight goals and allowed four against. They sit just one point behind group leaders Romania and are two ahead of third-place Hungary. The Faroe Islands have surprised everybody with six points from a pair of victories and four defeats. They’ve scored four times and conceded eight. Finland occupies fifth place with four points and Greece owns the last position with two.

Soccer Betting Preview – Faroe Islands vs Northern Ireland

BETTING LINE:

bet 365 lists Northern Ireland as the current favorites at 13/20 while the Faroe Islands are 5/1 and a draw is 3/1

HEAD TO HEAD:

These two nations met in group play back in October with Northern Ireland posting a clean sheet at home in Belfast in a 2-0 triumph. Kyle Lafferty and Gareth McAuley scored the goals. Things could have been a bit closer though as Irish goalkeeper Roy Carroll saved a penalty shot by Frodi Benjaminsen. The teams have met five times in the past with Northern Ireland winning three of them and being held to draws in the other two. The Faroe Islands have a draw and two defeats in Belfast and have a loss and draw at home. However, the 5-0 home loss was actually played in Sweden.

The Faroe Islands have long been considered minnows in the world of soccer, but this qualifying tournament shows there’s definitely signs of improvement. The team will be without Atli Gregersen for this contest as he’s serving a suspension. Brandur Olsen and Benjaminsen will also be handed a one-game ban if they are shown a yellow card during the outing. The Faroe Islands are still technically in the running for Euro 2016 in France next summer and all tickets for this game sold out on the first day.

Northern Ireland has the chance to solidify their position with a win here while their top rivals Romania and Hungary will be squaring off the dame day. Lafferty and midfielder Chris Brunt are also one yellow card away from being banned. The Faroe Islands’ two Group F wins have both come against Greece with a 2-1 win at home and a 1-0 victory in Greece. It was the team’s first clean sheet in their past 19 competitive fixtures. The Faroe Islands have allowed 1.33 goals against per game in this qualifying tournament. Their previous best was 1.7 in the Euro 2000 qualifiers.

Northern Ireland has been victorious in two of three road games in the current qualifying campaign and a third one could see them jump into first place. There’s a good chance the Irish squad will help themselves out greatly by taking all three points on Friday.